Bohtan (also Buhtan, ''Bokhti'') was a medieval
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
principality in the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
centered on the town of Jazirah ibn 'Omar (modern
Cizre
Cizre (; ar, جَزِيْرَة ٱبْن عُمَر, Jazīrat Ibn ʿUmar, or ''Madinat al-Jazira'', he, גזירא, Gzira, ku, Cizîr, ''Cizîra Botan'', or ''Cizîre'', syr, ܓܙܪܬܐ ܕܒܪ ܥܘܡܪ, Gāzartā,) is a city in the Cizre Di ...
also known as ''Cizîra Botan'' (''Jazira Botan'') in southeastern
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...
. Bohtanis were an ancient and prominent branch of the
Kurds ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ira ...
that claimed descent from the
Islamic General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
and
Sahaba
The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...
Khalid ibn al-Walid.
The official religion of this principality was
Yezidism
Yazidism , alternatively Sharfadin is a monotheistic ethnic religion that has roots in a western Iranic pre-Zoroastrian religion directly derived from the Indo-Iranian tradition. It is followed by the mainly Kurmanji-speaking Yazidis and is ...
in 14th century, although the rulers eventually converted to
Islam, Bohtan still constituted the third major
Yezidi
Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The ma ...
enclave after
Shekhan and
Sinjar
Sinjar ( ar, سنجار, Sinjār; ku, شنگال, translit=Şingal, syr, ܫܝܓܪ, Shingar) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its p ...
until 19th century.
History
In the early 8th century, Bukhtis and Bajnawi Kurds ruled the area surrounding
Sinjar
Sinjar ( ar, سنجار, Sinjār; ku, شنگال, translit=Şingal, syr, ܫܝܓܪ, Shingar) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its p ...
and
Jazira
Jazira or Al-Jazira ( 'island'), or variants, may refer to:
Business
*Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait
Locations
* Al-Jazira, a traditional region known today as Upper Mesopotamia or the smaller region of Cizre
* Al-Jazira ( ...
mountains known under name ''Zozan'' by Arab geographers.
Yaqoot Hamawi describes their residing area to be from
Ikhlat to
Salmas
Salmas ( fa, سلماس; ; ; ; syr, ܣܵܠܵܡܵܣ, Salamas) is the capital of Salmas County, West Azerbaijan Province in Iran. It is located northwest of Lake Urmia, near Turkey. According to the 2019 census, the city's population is 127,86 ...
which included many strongholds belonging to Bokhtis; he also mentioned town of Jardhakil as their capital. The principality ruled over an area extending from
Diyarbakir to
Van and from
Rawanduz
Rawandiz ( ar, رواندز; ku, ڕەواندز, Rewandiz) is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, located in the Erbil Governorate, close to the Iran–Iraq border, borders with Iran and Iraq–Turkey border, Turkey, it is located 10 km ...
to Sinjar at its peak.
The first governors of Bohtan, were from the Azizan family, who originally followed
Yezidism
Yazidism , alternatively Sharfadin is a monotheistic ethnic religion that has roots in a western Iranic pre-Zoroastrian religion directly derived from the Indo-Iranian tradition. It is followed by the mainly Kurmanji-speaking Yazidis and is ...
later converted to
Sunni Islam and were related to the Governors of the
Principality of Bitlis
The Principality of Bitlis, also known as the Bitlis Khanate and the Bitlis Emirate (1182–early 19th century) was a Kurdish principality originated from the ''Rojaki'' (or ''Rozagi'') tribal confederation. The Rojaki defeated the Georgian Kin ...
.
Following their role in the Ottoman defeat of the
Safavids
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
in the
Battle of Caldiran in 1514,
Bohtan was granted the status of a
Hükümet, and it became a hereditary Kurdish principality within the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
.
An important governor of the Bohtan was
Bedir Khan Bey, who succeeded Mir Seyfeddin. Bedir Khan Bey was
Mîr of the principality between 1821 and 1847.
He reformed the military forces in establishing an elite force consistent with members of the several tribes within the emirate
which brought security into Bohtan.
[Gökçe, Hasan (1997). Kieser, Hans-Lukas (ed.), p. 80] According to European diplomats in the region, he even tested if the regional chief was observant enough.
He would try to raid a tribe by night, and if he succeeded he would punish the tribal chief in whose territory the robbery was successful.
He then returned what he had robbed the night before.
The security standard in Bohtan was such, that it encouraged the population of neighboring provinces to move into the territory under Bedir Khans control.
This led to the opposition by the Ottoman Vali of
Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...
, who demanded an end to the emigration of the habitants from the
Mosul province to Bohtan.
Following, Bedir Khan expelled 2000 immigrants who settled into Bohtan during the Governorship of Mehmet Pasha in Mosul,
but they returned after four years.
The renewed emigration lead the Vali of Mosul
Mehmet Şerif Pasha to file a report against Bedir Khan, who in 1847 had to agree to bring an end to the immigration of foreigners in Bohtan.
Bedir Khan Bey resigned after an unsuccessful uprising against the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
and following, Bohtan lost its independence
See also
*
List of Kurdish dynasties and countries
This is a list of Kurdish dynasties, countries and autonomous territories. By the 10th century, the term "Kurd" did not have an ethnic connotation and referred to Iranian nomads in the region between Lake Van and Lake Urmia. In Arabic medieval sou ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Encyclopaedia Islamica (in Persian)
Former Kurdish states in Turkey
Kurdish dynasties
History of Şırnak Province
Vassal states of the Ottoman Empire
Yazidi history